Just three years ago, Sonny Dykes’ Horned Frogs led a remarkable 12-win drive to the national championship game, emerging as an explosive Big 12 threat in the making. However, the momentum from the lone season did not bleed forward, and TCU’s challenges resurfaced. The ongoing season is no different, and now patience is running thin at Fort Worth.

In Week 12, TCU faced another setback at LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYU Cougars embarrassed the Horned Frogs, 44-13, in front of a crowd of over 44,000. QB1 Josh Hoover never reached the end zone and threw two interceptions, finishing with a QB rating of 46.8%. While the offense struggled to gain momentum, the defensive unit failed to contain Bear Bachmeier and the BYU offense.

With a fourth loss in the season and tensions flaring, Sonny Dykes stares down at an uncertain future. According to the latest intel from 214 Coverage’s Dick Buescher, the program may sever ties with its head coach going forward. “TCU likely to move on from Sonny Dykes following another disappointing season,” he shared on X. He added, “I’m told there’s “an overwhelming consensus among boosters that it’s time for change.”

Among an already crowded head coach carousel, will TCU take that extreme step?

One of the reasons pointing to TCU’s woes is its one-dimensional offense. The roster has struggled to exploit ground coverage, entering Provo as No. 15 in the Big 12. Their leading rusher, Kevorian Barnes, who so far had chipped in three touchdowns, was out of the game, owing to an undisclosed injury. But even Josh Hoover’s arm couldn’t keep the offense afloat. With 23 touchdowns on his resume, the QB also threw 10 interceptions.

Pre-season conversations had centered around Sonny Dykes’ performance. Athlon Sports dished out an anonymous survey regarding what Big 12 coaches think of their rivals. TCU was supposed to have an explosive season, armed with its No. 1 Big 12 recruiting class. “It’s crazy to say this about a team who played in the national championship,” an anonymous Big 12 coach stated.

“But this is the season that really matters when it comes to Sonny [Dykes]. They built depth and recruited to fill every deficiency on that five-win team. Now what? They have the best signing classes in the league, and that matters because they’re also building NIL to keep the kids they want.”

However, that optimism couldn’t be transferred from paper to execution.

Loss against BYU points to defensive woes

Following the lopsided loss to the BYU Cougars, Sonny Dykes admitted to the defensive challenges. “We had a hard time getting off the field defensively,” he stated post-game. The defense allowed 296 yards through aerial attack and another 151 yards on the ground for a total of four touchdowns. The last two touchdowns came off TCU turnovers during the fourth quarter, with the Horned Frogs limited to punts, downs, and an interception.

The head coach continued. “We’ve been playing really good defense, and we struggled tonight. Anytime we got them into a third down or a fourth down, they executed at a really high level and made a (good) play, we just had a hard time getting them stopped,” he added.

As TCU is a private university, the buyout amount has not been disclosed in a event that they move on from Dykes.